5

I'm leaving in a couple of days for Saudi Arabia. I will have at least three vehicle trips:

  • Airport (Jeddah) to Mecca
  • Mecca to Medinah
  • Medinah to Airport

I'm travelling with two kids (five and three) who use the "middle" car-seat (front-facing, non-booster).

Normally, there are buses available for these trips, which are somewhat safe. Unfortunately, there's a lot of construction right now, and they may not be available; the apparent only other option is to take a taxi.

TLDR: what are my options as far as child safety and car-seats?

  • The taxis probably don't carry car seats, as they're very relaxed about seat belts in general
  • The airline (Saudi Airlines) doesn't mention anything about car seats for non-infants
  • I'm not sure if I can rent car-seats over there

Ultimately, I may have to choose between the lesser of these evils:

  • Kids in the back seats with no seatbelts
  • Kids in the back seats with adult seatbelts
  • Kids in the back seats held by adults
3
  • 1
    One could also try and drive as slow as possible, since this can considerably lower the probability of an accident happening. Crashing @ 50 km/h without car seats is probably better than crashing @ 130 km/h with full car safety gear.
    – JonathanReez
    Feb 11, 2014 at 4:23
  • 1
    @JonathanReez I am not sure that's true.
    – Relaxed
    Feb 11, 2014 at 6:46
  • 1
    @JonathanReez I won't be driving. That's not an option.
    – ashes999
    Feb 11, 2014 at 11:31

1 Answer 1

6

I didn't realize that seat belt laws in Saudi Arabia are nothing close to what they are here. So why would they care about car-seats?

Here's what I ended up doing:

  • Mini-Bus: Our travel agent sent us a mini-bus (local school bus), which is somewhat safer (and slower) than a traditional taxi. This covered two trips (to Mecca, and to the airport)
  • Coach Bus: To get to Medinah, we got a VIP coach bus (not a regular bus or taxi) -- the one that serves food and has a bathroom on board. It was more expensive (~150 SR per person) but also slower/safer than taxi.

Also, for non-essential trips (eg. shopping somewhere far), I avoided the problem by leaving my kids with relatives who travelled with me.

1
  • 1
    What is here?
    – phihag
    Sep 5, 2016 at 15:06

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.